Five Things: Wisconsin

In the first true test of the season, Ohio State welcomed back Braxton Miller and the kid answered the bell with 281 total yards and four touchdowns in a 31-24 victory over Wisconsin in a raucous-by-OSU-fan-standards Ohio Stadium.

Miller's big plays, including a clutch 40-yard touchdown toss to Philly Brown to end the first half, supplemented a solid effort by the defensive front seven who combined to limit Wisconsin's vaunted rushing attack to well over 200 yards below their average.

Though the Bullets did a nice job bottling up the run, Joel Stave and Jared Abbrederis scorched Bradley Roby through the air, giving the Buckeyes plenty to work on in prep for pass-happy Northwestern. Of greater concern in the secondary is the loss of Christian Bryant, who injured his ankle during Wisconsin's last gasp possession and was on his way to surgery shortly thereafter.

In attendance with two fellow dubbers following another incredible Eat Too, Brutus, we didn't have the best of vantage points but we'll still plow forward with this week's episode of Five Things before we focus our attention on Northwestern.

REMINDER: THAT MILLER KID IS PRETTY GOOD

With all due respect to Kenny Guiton because I've got nothing but love for that guy, it was nice to see Braxton Miller remind some of the fans with selective amnesia exactly why he's not only the starter but one of the 10 best offensive players in college football. I mean, the talk from some people that Guiton should continue to start or at least split time with Miller against a top-flight opponent was ridiculous.

Against a physical defense led by the amazing Chris Borland, Miller lit up the Badgers for 281 total yards and four scores, a couple via throws that served as absolute daggers.

The first came with :10 left in the opening half on 4th and 7 as he fired a laser to Philly Brown for a 40-yard score putting the Bucks in front 24-14. The velocity of the throw made the play possible after the corner cheated up as the safety rotating to help over the top could not get there fast enough. Lost in that sequence is Miller's 8-yard run on 2nd and 15 from the Wisconsin 48. The line broke down and most quarterbacks would've lost 10-15 yards on the play but Braxton was able to juke free and actually find a crease for 8-yards to set up the touchdown throw two plays later.

The second proved to the game winner as he found Philly for a 1-yard score giving OSU a 31-14 lead late in the 3rd quarter. The awkward looking play was run to perfection as Miller rolled to his right before throwing low and inside to Brown through heavy traffic along the line of scrimmage.

Beyond those two crucial connections, Miller made a host of other spectacular throws including a 25-yard touchdown pass to Evan Spencer to open the scoring. Rolling left, Miller threw a strike across his body with impressive velocity. His 26-yard hookup with Devin Smith late in the 1st quarter also showcased an increasingly accurate cannon as he smartly back-shouldered the defender who actually had decent coverage.

Miller was clearly a little tentative in the run game early but still managed 83 yards on 22 carries for the day.

Overall, you have to be pleased with the performance of a quarterback everyone thought might be a little rusty after sitting out for so many weeks.

ROUGH NIGHT FOR ROBY

The good news is that we all probably watched the worst game Bradley Roby will ever play and the Buckeyes still escaped victorious but man did Jared Abbrederis, a great college player in his own right, teach him a thing or two last night.

Almost exclusively in coverage against Wisconsin's version of White Lightning, Roby was caught more than once being overaggressive and biting on the first of Abbrederis' double moves.

Abbrederis finished with 10 grabs for 207 yards and a score, and would've had another 20 if not for a Roby PI call. Interestingly, and I didn't think much about it at the time, but against the only other decent offense Ohio State faced, Cal's freshman quarterback showed no fear in taking on Roby with success for much of that night.

Roby did have an interception but it was gift-wrapped by great pressure from Adolphus Maximus that forced Stave to make a rushed throw.

At this point in the season, Roby's hype has not matched his production, just a year removed from breaking up 17 passes during the undefeated season. With Roby's luster taking a bit of a hit and now Christian Bryant on the shelf thanks to ankle surgery, you have to wonder how opposing offenses might adjust their game plans going forward.

Again, I'm not hating on the kid. He's got a respectable resume thanks to awesome recovery speed and typically pretty solid ball skills but he's got to challenge himself to be more disciplined especially with the secondary a man down.

LINEBACKERS DO WORK

I've been pretty critical of linebackers not named Ryan Shazier the last few years so I'm delighted to offer a tip of the cap to both Curtis Grant and Joshua Perry.

Perry came up big with 7 stops on the night

Finally facing a conventional offense, the Buckeyes played the most two and three linebacker set we've seen all season and against Wisconsin's powerful rushing attack, those guys stood up to the challenge.

Shazier led the team with nine tackles, 2.5 TFL and a forced fumble but he wasn't alone this time as Grant (7 tackles, 1 TFL) and Perry (7 tackles) combined for 14 total stops.

Only Roby, who finished with eight tackles mostly because his man had just caught the ball, had more tackles than the oft-maligned linebackers.

The defensive line did a great job in run support, getting decent penetration and allowing the linebackers room to operate, and the combined effort saw Wisconsin rush for just 104 yards on 27 carries, averaging 3.9 yards a pop.

They might not get much action next week in Evanston but I definitely felt both Grant and Perry answered the call last night.

SIT DOWN!

So, I'm not sure how this will be received but I wish I could say I was amazed at how "fans" in our section acted last night for a big game in the Shoe.

Overall, the atmosphere in the stadium was outstanding and most people seemed to be there to try and create a home field advantage so maybe the three of us were just unlucky in our seat assignment but what happened to us during the 1st quarter was an embarrassment to fandom and a microcosm of why many people opt not to go to games because you run the risk of being surrounded by drunken idiots who think they are smarter than Urban Meyer, or worse, you end up surrounded by people easily offended when you stand, yell, clap, you know, do stuff to support the team.

Honest to God, we had no less than 40 people absolutely screaming at us to sit down. Screaming! When I turned and fairly politely noted that it was pleasing to see them finally being passionate about something instead of just sitting on their asses doing nothing to support the team, one lady threatened, and followed through, in getting an usher to deal with me and the other two 11-dubbers / obvious psychopaths I was with.

The usher, to his credit, was outstanding. I asked him, half-jokingly and totally respectfully, if he planned to relocate us with sideline passes since we paid $300 to actually support the team. He obviously didn't do that but he did deescalate the situation in a very professional manner and the three of us actually became section-celebrities for the rest of the game with the true fans around us glad we told the fans mistakenly thinking they were there to watch a dance recital to shove it in a sarcastically-wonderful way.

Needless to say, I won't be going to another game in the Shoe unless I'm located within the students who actually give a damn about the outcome.

A WORD OF THANKS

I know I speak for the entire staff when I say just how thankful we are to have such a strong and supportive readership.

Many of you spent good money to attend the Gold Pants Social and made the event a blast. My personal highlight was an incredible conversation I had with Jim Lachey in which he schooled me on the finer points of watching tape and how that process helped him contain Bruce Smith all those years in the NFL. Not only was it amazingly informative as he talked of identifying tells but he also even acted out how he would block against certain players, nearly separating my shoulder in the process.

Thanks for making Eat Too, Brutus IV the tailgate of the year

Naw, it wasn't that close to being separated but I was definitely glad I had a few delicious pints of Land Grant Brewing's Gold Pants Lager in my system to offset the pain.

And good Lord was Eat Too, Brutus IV off the chain or what?

The thing kicked off with roughly 20 members of The Best Damn Band In The Land knocking the cover off the ball, treating us to Carmen Ohio, The Buckeye Battle Cry and Hang On Sloopy before donating a band hat toward our raffle held later in the day. What a classy bunch of folks to take time out of their busy Saturday to swing by and get things started.

Later, Mekka Don broke it down in front of packed house as everyone overdosed on Yuengling and Goose Island courtesy of the fine folks at Columbus Distributing and pork for days from the outstanding crew at City Barbecue.

It was also fantastic to see Maurice Clarett swing by and even better to see how warmly he was received. The man made his mistakes, owned up to them, and is doing all he can to make things right. That's good enough for me and I'm glad to see it was good enough for all of you. He couldn't have been more gracious and his redemption story has been fun to watch.

Finally, I wish I would've gotten to meet even more of you but it was awesome chatting with Abe Froman, Nappy, YRRO and numerous others over the course of those two days.

To everyone who donated to the Gold Pants Club and to DownSyndrome Achieves, we salute you.

Fans pay good money and have a right to do whatever they want to enjoy the game (as long as its mostly legal and respectful), but with that being said, some fans shouldnt even go to the game. I never understood why they go to sit there and mumble to themselves the entire time. The purpose of going to see something live is to enjoy the experience of being there and part of the experience of an OSU game is the atmosphere which is created from crazy, yelling fans. I dont get the reason why some pay good money to treat it like watching a movie in a theatre, get off your asses and do something to help enhance the atmosphere/experience or stay the hell home. That also goes for any old people who go there to read books and/or nap (i.e. the woman pictured at the USC game in 2009 reading a book whilst everyone else is standing and screaming).

I really think the ticket department needs to come out and make it clear that people purchasing tickets should not expect to be able to watch the game seated the entire time. I know when I go with my group the rule is no sitting unless it's a timeout or halftime. And if TBDBITL is putting on a good show, which is usually does, we don't sit at half time. If you don't want to stand, stay at home.

The worst though is when you have someone behind you yelling at you to sit and there are still 30 rows of people in front of you standing.

Scotch: It may be too early to drink it, yes; but people it is never to early to think about it.

I will say that our section (4AA) which has mostly people with grey hair has no issue with "standers". I'm a stander and I try to sit in time-outs and obvious breaks but when the game is going on I'm going to stand.
I think the "sit down" mentality is very localized, some sections standing all day and others playing the down in front game.
The game was great but not at the peak level of enthusiasm seen against USC and a couple other night games.

If they want to sit for the entire game, there are two options.
1. Stay at home.
2. Shell out for a suite.
I know this is a football post, but I still hate that the two best Buckeye basketball games in terms of atmosphere were the NIT games against Cal (in St. John's Arena) and the absolutely rocking game against Dayton. I loved it when I was there, but I got jaded after realizing NIT games were the loudest OSU fans were ever going to get.
Granted, I haven't been to a game (football or basketball) since I graduated in '09, so there could have been better support for games since then. But posts like these don't make me optimistic. Honestly, it's one of the major reasons I don't go to games anymore.
Expand the student sections and put them on the 50 yard lines/mid-court. The blue-hairs should no longer have that privilege.

You should know that those blue hairs finance the athletic programs which you hold dear. when the average student is ready to pay an extra 10k or more per year for tickets, then they can have seats on the 50.

Why do blue hairs need seats on the 50? Ohio state needs people who can be raucous where it matters. If financing the program was what mattered to them, they'd do it in another manner. It's purely a status thing, and it shouldn't be. The atmosphere of live events is awful at Ohio state, and there's an easy way to fix it. Our beloved athletic programs will suffer when the best players go to more exciting places to play. Give up the ego. Stand and cheer, or stand aside and let someone else who will.

Thank you sir. In all seriousness if you were forced to pick a single player who won the game last night, it would have to be him. He pinned them deep every time he had a chance and usually they had no chance at any kind of a drive, giving the O the ball back with great field position. Never been such a fan of a punter in my whole life.

Well i like college and i like football...and im gunna keep doin em both cause they make me feel good!!!

I'm 59 yrs old and I stand/jump/yell most of the game.
If you are so cold-blooded that a night game at the Shoe against Wisconsin does not have you on your feet most of the game, you should probably be home, watching it on TV with tea and scones.

Thanks Calpoppy, sounds pretty good actually. (Can't believe I was down voted on my attempt at a Homer Simpson inspired joke, as Rodney Dangerfield used to say "tough crowd, tough crowd, I tell you, I get no respect").

The will to win is not as important as the will to prepare to win. -- Woody Hayes

I used to get scones from the mother of a friend that is from England. They were delicious and handle well through the mail. So I know all about scones.
You down vote was probably an accident so upvote for you there.

Good job for the 11w staff for being true fans (and obviously superior articles and content). Thank you for standing up to the blue hairs that care more about bragging they were at the game than participating in an electric atmosphere and helping out with some home field advantage.

I had the exact same experience, it was very disappointing. I sat in 24C evryone was sitting down and complained because i was standing, yelling and chearing. This is also the section that started filing out with 6 mins left in the game. I yelled to the people around me "we are at a football game not the opera." The guy next to me said the people paying for the premium games aren't there to chear, but to say they went to the big night game. We didn't see anyone leaving the game early on the other side of the field. It was pathetic, I just kept thinking if everyone in the stadium would just make some noise, it would be so much louder and disrupt teams a lot more. Hope this trend doesn't continue with the other premium games because they're obviously the most important of the year and the stadium energy does affect the teams play.

I was in 24C too, and while nobody bitched at me for standing the entire game, I did notice way too many people filing for the exits with way too much time left to take the win for granted. It was very disappointing. Maybe I lack the confidence they have in the team where they can leave that early and not think they miss anything, but I was nervous until that last pass fell to the ground. Besides that, the atmosphere was pretty killer throughout.

I have had seats all across the Shoe in recent years, and I've been in some areas where most people sat. I have never had someone yell at me or call the ushers over for standing though.
I scream like a lunatic every third down, participate whole-heartedly in the O-H-I-O chants, yell at every bad call, and generally do everything I would at home.
For the 2008 Penn State night game, I was in section 15A. The place was rocking so much that everyone kept getting shifted around on the bleachers, far off of their assigned spot. There was one older lady who kept trying to move the mass of people, those standing and into the game, back to their little numbered section of bleachers.
I don't understand the mentality of those fans at all.

I agree 100% about the fans. I love me some Buckeye Nation, but have continually been frustrated by people asking me to sit down, and not yelling. In a related note, do fans know not to get loud when we have the ball on third or fourth and short?

100% agree, If you have a pair of working legs there's a quick remedy for sitting behind someone who's standing. It drives me absolutely crazy when some grumpy yahoo behind me acts like I'm being completely outrageous for standing and getting loud.

Luckily I have rarely experienced that at the Shoe but when I did, I said in a not to friendly tone that I paid good money to be here, I am supporting my team, if you want to sit down then watch it at your home, and to go f@#$ yourself...

The best thing about Pastafarianism? It is not only acceptable, but advisable, to be heavily sauced

Two thoughts about fans: one there seems to be an extraordinary amount of gray-haired people in the stands and they usually do not do much cheering. When I do attend a game, I certainly do my share of cheering and I am 62. If I can do it, so can they.
As for the "I know more than the players and the coaches" fan, I had the misfortune of sitting in front of one at a basketball game. After suffering his steady, on-going commentary for two-thirds of the game, I finally turned around and said, "I am so sorry, I most have missed your best-selling book on collegiate basketball coaching techniques. What was the title again?" He was quiet the rest of the game.

sorry to hear you were located near a bunch of douchebags. i actually witnessed something similar in my section 11a, but it was only 1 douche and the people in front of him banded together and all stood. i have had season tickets 5 years and this is very rare.
note to potential game attendees:
if you are worried about having to stand to see the game, please sty home.

Next year, I'm gonna have to bring even more bacon! E2B is a great event and for a good cause! Great talking to Chris, Ramzy, Jason, and Kyle although that was later in the day and after 15 or 20 beers. Specially nice to talk to the SC Air Force couple that made the trip up!

To be somewhat fair to Roby although this is actually the 2nd game he has given up some big plays, some of the double moves he got burned on were primarily due to his role in run support requiring eyes in the backfield. But he definitely overplayed Abbrederis rather than playing a bit more off and breaking on the football.

I believe we ran hurry up a little bit on the first and maybe 2nd series of the game but after that it was pretty much the normal no huddle we run. I wondered the same too. Was thinking Urban wanted to implement that in the game to gas the Wisky D down.

People who want to sit quietly the entire game: the bleachers in the shoe are uncomfortable for a reason. If you want to sit, do it in your easy chair. The only way you as a fan can tangibly help this team is by standing and yelling.

the kids are playing their tail off, and the coaches are screwing it up! - JLS

There seems to be some age bias apparent in these posts. I'm 60 years old (work out 5 days a week and beat kids half my age in racquetball BTW) and when I attend the games I scream my head off and stand up with the other fans, participate in the wave and all of that. I see a lot of the students standing on top of their seats, which is kind of annoying, it's one thing for a 75 year old person to stand and cheer, but to expect him or her at that age to stand on the bleachers is not really fair. Also, I see a lot of the kids leaving their seats constantly, in and out, spending more time tweeting and texting and taking photos than watching the game. So, there are two sides to a coin. I'm the guy who paid for my college education (as did my wife) at OSU but paid for my son's tuition at OSU (I know college tuition is ridiculous these days) and I give to the Alumni Association to support the university (had a great conversation with one of the kids who called for money the other night, asked him all about his major and tried to give him some encouragement and some tips). Sorry the 11W staff had a bad experience with some old farts, a shame, makes the rest of us oldies look bad LOL.

The will to win is not as important as the will to prepare to win. -- Woody Hayes

I would agree that some of the comments have come with an age bias but I want to make sure you read my article clearly because at no time did I personally call out "old farts" or bring age into the story.

Sure, there were some older folks in the posse that attacked us but there were far more folks my age (almost 40) and younger.

Thanks guys for your responses, didn't mean the 11W staff or the article Chris wrote (very informative and interesting as always), and didn't mean to come off as the sensitive old guy, laugh at myself all the time. Fantastic site and love the articles. Now I have to go drink some prune juice, swig some Geritol and make sure I have an ample supply of Depends on hand.

The will to win is not as important as the will to prepare to win. -- Woody Hayes

I wish there were dedicated sections for people who want to sit during the game. The most dedicated OSU fan I know is my grandfather, and the thought of him sitting down and standing up as much as I do is pretty painful. I know there's handicapped seating somewhere, but there's a lot of room between people who physically can't stand up and people for whom standing for three hours is pretty horrible. Plus, I imagine a lot of people for whom standing up is difficult are also buying seats where they don't have to climb many stairs, which puts them close to the field (where you'd hope people would be standing up and cheering). Likewise, I've had great experiences at the stadium sitting around families with little kids at their first game, who are obviously... short. So I do get why having everybody standing up could be annoying. But it seems like this could be managed better.

I don't understand the "sit down people" either. I have never been asked to sit, but one older couple once asked me to "please ask the rude gentleman in front of you to please sit down." I think they thought I was standing because he was in my way... Anyway I politely said I would do no such thing, and that I forgave them for being so rude as to make such a request. Never heard a peep from them for the rest of the game :)

Sorry that you had such a bad experience with lazy fans, Chris. I've been asked to sit before by people behind me, and I've gotten funny looks from people when I make noise to support the defense. But I've never had the ushers involved before. That must have sucked. Hope I'm never in that kind of section.

This year I'm sitting next to a female fan who's even louder than I am! Feels good to have some support nearby.

"Now, I ain't saying that I'm perfect, 'cause I'm not. And I ain't gonna never be. None of us are. But we have won every single game we have played till now. So this team is perfect. We stepped out on that field that way tonight. And, uh, if it's all the same to you, Coach Boone, that's how we want to leave it."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKk0x_jUrY4
= This team

I was in 23A and ran into the same thing with people telling us to sit. I declined. They got the usher. Then I told the usher I wasn't going to sit either. The usher told me he was going to get the cops if I didn't sit. I told him to please get the cops so they can see how silly it is that you are planning on getting the cops for standing. The usher then called the cops over who looked at him, didn't say a word to us, and walked away.

People need to realize that standing and cheering is part of the game. If you aren't ok with that, buy first row seats, box seats, or stay at home.

the student section is our favorite place to sit in the whole stadium its soo much fun we went to the Navy game a couple years back and were lucky enough to get tickets there after someone jipped us on section b tickets karma i guess it was the most amazing game we went to everyone was going crazy it made the game awsome

I was lucky enough to attend. Sat in 23C. Right behind me sat a couple who were EASILY 75 years old. The man had a cane, and the lady wore a scarlet bonnet.
So I'm thinking, great, these blue hairs are gonna be on their asses scolding us to sit down the whole game. Awesome.
WRONG.

These folks cheered, high-fived, screamed, and fully participated in all the expected ways. I was hesitant at first about standing cause I didn't want to take away from their game experience (I'm a softy for old folks) but after the first series the old lady seeing I was holding back a little, tapped me on the shoulder and said "Don't you worry about us, you go ahead and stand as much as you want to". What a sweetie. So I did, and didn't hear a peep about sitting down from them the whole game. More often than not when I was up, they were too. It was great.
Don't lose all hope Buckeye Fans. There are still some good ones out there.

i was sitting with chris and the whole thing was hilarious. my favorite part was one person asking us "why do you want to stand, its rude" and me going "DO YOU NOT SEE THE FIFTY THOUSAND PEOPLE RIGHT NEXT TO YOU DOING WHAT I AM???"

even better was later in the game at obvious standing situations (third downs, important drives, whatever) and most of the whiners were standing then, of course.

here's the thing: everything is situational. if its a noon game against FAMU, i get it. people should sit. but if it's a night game against a big time opponent, stay at home if you aren't willing to use your legs for a little bit. you won't be missed.

my guess is the root of the problem is people who do this crap are generally people who don't like football and are there for other reasons

Pretty sure I was sitting about 10 rows behind you (16A?) and I watched the whole thing unfold, though I obviously had no idea at the time that it was you. Here's what I was thinking the whole time: in 20+ years of attending major sporting events, I've learned one thing that you guys apparently missed, and that is that majority rules. If most of the people in the section want to stand, then everyone will stand. If most want to sit, then everyone will sit. And you don't really get to argue about it--this is why you guys lost the fight. The folks asking you to sit paid the same $$$ you did, so I've no idea why some of you think that your money out-of-pocket means that your rights and desires supersede theirs. (Some of them paid even *more* than you did for *seat backs* to make the *seat* more comfortable for *sitting* in--does that mean they're in charge now?) And although you make it sound like all 106,000 fans were on their feet except for the crabby people behind you, that wasn't the case at all. By the time you guys were asked to sit down there wasn't anyone standing up in the rows in front of you. You guys were the clear outliers, and that's when people start to get pissed. You're right that there's no excuse for yelling at other fans the way they did, but you were asked politely before the yelling started, and that didn't make any difference in your choice.
The thing I find remarkable about this entire comment thread is that if you prefer to sit rather than stand you are, by definition, a "douchebag." Doesn't matter if you are fully engaged in every play, and screaming at the top of your lungs, and stand up for every third and fourth down (which our section certainly did, a fact curiously omitted from the original post)--if you decide you prefer to sit on first and/or second down, well then you suck and should just stay home. I've stood up through every last second of plenty of games (including one on crutches, with a broken foot, in 95 degree heat, that went to triple OT), I've gone to work/school on countless Mondays with no voice left thanks to all the screaming I did on Saturday--and I even followed the team around for four years as a member of OSUMB. I'd like to think I've established my Buckeye fan cred, but when people in the section where I'm sitting decide they want to sit, then I sit down too. Thanks to all of you, I now know that means I'm a worthless piece of crap masquerading as a football fan who should never set foot in Ohio Stadium again. Good to know.
If you all want a perfect game-watching world in which you get to make all the rules, then you are probably the ones who should stay home in your living rooms or buy yourselves a suite--because that's the only place where you get to be 100% in charge. If you choose to go out and participate in a large group event and place yourselves among the masses, then you're gonna have to play by the group's rules. Just like your mama taught you!

Interesting perspective... I generally believe and follow the same, that section majority rules...
However certain times should be noted as exceptions, 3rd/4th downs for the opponent or important drives, where standing needs to be tolerated... Also, someone also pointed out in the comments above, night games should be understood to be different... if you are attending a night game, it should be understood you will be standing significantly more than usual...
As a side note, I also thought the atmosphere vs. Nebraska last year was better, but maybe thats cause last year I was sitting closer to the students in 4A...

Chris, thanks for the comments on "sit down". I normally don't stand unless I need to, but when others do in front of me and people behind me yell, I say hey, this is a football game. You can sit on your couch. Unfortunately a lot of these people are not into the game. That's what the money does. We sit next to an aisle, and I swear it was a damn parade of people and pretzels that we had to look around all night.